Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Answer: I thought he was freaking out, realizing the picture was made of thousands of tiny dots (pointillism).
Question: Where might I be able contact Brad Silberling? I have tried searching the Web and Paramount's website with no success.
Question: At the very end when they show the sun setting over the hill, you can see something/someone moving across the screen, just under the ground. Is this done to symbolize something, or was it a sort of camera problem?
Answer: According to Ted Neeley and Norman Jewison on the DVD commentary, the shepherd walking across the frame in the final shot of the film was never intended to be there, and just happened across the shot as they were filming. Because of the significance of a shepherd in the teachings of Christ, Jewison and the crew were struck profoundly by the timing of this shepherd crossing the field, and kept the shot. They got a perfect sunset, as well as a subtle depiction of the resurrection.
Question: Why didn't Luke just stay in the cave and wait until the next morning to contact the Rebel base? Isn't the cave just as adequate a shelter as what Han dug for him?
Chosen answer: There's still a very large and annoyed Wampa in there, and there could easily be others in the depths of the cave. Running out into the cold may not be the most sensible move in the world, but it's reasonably understandable.
Question: After Jo's truck is destroyed and they have to use Bill's truck to load two of the Dorothys in, what do they do with the top that was over the bed of Bill's truck?
Chosen answer: I imagine they just left it at the house where they loaded the Dorothys. You only need a couple of wrenches to remove a camper top.
They were not at a house.
Answer: It was most likely placed inside one of the other vehicles, the most likely being Dusty's "Barn Burner," which would've had ample space for it.
Question: In the battle of Hoth, when Han and Leia are at the command center, we hear a voice saying "Imperial troops have entered the base" but this happens before General Veers has destroyed the power generator. How is it possible for them to enter when the shield is still up?
Chosen answer: The shield prevents ship from landing close to the base and stops any orbital bombardment; it's not designed to prevent actual entry to the base. As such, the Imperial Walkers were landed a long way out, then they simply walked in under the shield, much as the probe droid did earlier. The ground troops simply came in with the walkers, disembarked and entered the base - the shield wasn't in their way.
It got corrected on the 4K release.
Question: When Johnny clicks the gold pen twice in Pegasus' secretary's office, she falls down unconscious. I'm not sure why, can someone explain what the pen did to her, and why is she in a wheelchair afterwards?
Chosen answer: The pen is equiped with tiny tranquilizer darts. That's what hits the secretary. The tranquilizer seems to have either a very long effect or some side effects, as the secretary is partly immobilized thus the wheel chair.
Question: Two questions I had about the cellar at the end. What was the point of Donnie and his friends going to the cellar towards the end? Was he looking for something in particular? And the second thing was why were those bullies from school there at the same time? Did it have something to do with the story told in the film about how kids would try to steal stuff from Sparrow's house?
Chosen answer: By going to the cellar, Donnie has continued to set in motion the events that will return the engine to his proper time. He burns down Jim Cunningham's house, which causes Kitty to be at his trial, which causes Donnie's Mom to take the kids to California, which causes her to take the earlier flight causing the engine to fall back through the portal to the normal universe. In much the same way, his Mom had to leave so they could have a party, which is where Donnie and Gretchen make/fall in love. He takes her to that house to talk to Roberta Sparrow, and it is when he notices the cellar door that the events unfold to motivate him. If Donnie lives, Gretchen dies. He must sacrifice himself to return time to normal so that Gretchen will live. The boys were taking stuff from Roberta's house as referenced earlier in the movie, but played a key role in the events unfolding correctly.
Question: I have been wondering this for ages. In the scene where everyone is on the beach, Ellen Brody sees her husband Chief Brody and waves at him. He waves back. Then she mouths something completely incomprehensible and the chief nods and walks away. What did she say?
Chosen answer: She mouths "I've got Shaun", so he doesn't worry. Alternatively "I've got your order" as she points to the food counter.
Brother From the Same Planet - S4-E14
Question: When Homer is at the Bigger Brothers place, he looks at a book of children who want a Bigger Brother. When he looks at one of them he says "Zooie. Zooie." What exactly does he mean by this?
Question: Something I never quite figured out when watching the film was what the shields in the corridor were for? The shields that separate Darth Maul from Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan during the fight. There are dozens of them and all they seem to do is benefit the fight in the film without having any real purpose.
Chosen answer: According to "Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Episode I" by Kristin Lund, they are "laser doors which lock into position in response to potentially lethal power outputs that occur intermittently during plasma activation process" (the fight takes place in a plasma energy processing plant). There are six laser doors in deference to an ancient Naboo legend in which Chaos is held back by six inpentrable gates. As you say though, they're really just a plot device to add dramatic tension to the duel!
Question: What are those devices we see disappear from the wraith's arm and after the second and third race supposed to be?
Chosen answer: I believe they are markers to show how many people are left to take revenge on for his death.
The problem with that answer is that the Wraith had to kill five people (Oggie, Minty, Skank, Gutterboy and Packard) and he only had four of those metal braces. If he had one for each gang member he wanted revenge on, he would have had five. I think he was only given four chances to crash his car and reassemble, and once they were gone, that was it. That's why he killed Skank and Gutterboy at the same time.
Question: We learn that the Clone army was secretly being created, raised and trained on Kamino, without the Jedi's knowledge. What about all the Republican starships, cruisers and walkers we see at the end of the movie? Where were they built, and how did Sidious and Dooku manage to keep that a secret as well?
Chosen answer: The assault ship, gunships, walkers and tanks were built by Rothana Heavy Engineering (a subsidiary of Kuat Drive Yards) who were contracted to the Kamino cloners to secretly develop and build the war machines for the clone army. RHE had hidden shipyards over the planet Rothana, which is why the Republic was unaware of the project.
Question: When Freddy fries Michael's nuts, what is that howling sound in the background?
Chosen answer: It is most likely Michael screaming, but playing very slowly, so that it gives it a creepier effect. Also, these "howls" sound sort of similar to his grunt, thus, this seems more plausible.
Question: Does anyone know whether the coloured-in photos, which appear throughout the opening titles sequence, are real or made up for the show? If they ARE real, when George Wendt's name appears there's a shot of a man holding a newspaper with 'WE WIN' as the headline - does anybody know what this referred to?
Answer: Here is the source of the "WE WIN" photo: http://www.oldnycphotos.com/nyny587ac.html Brooklyn, of all places.
Chosen answer: The pictures in the opening sequences are real pictures of people enjoying alcohol (from various dates), and are not meant to represent or include any of the cast members. The "we win" sign (most likely not a newspaper headline) is referring to the end of prohibition (1933) A fitting tribute to a show about drinking alcohol.
The word "Nazi" appears in the caption to a story underneath the headline. Maybe the headline refers to the Nazi surrender.
Question: Why does Yoda seem so "childish" when Luke first meets him in the swamp? I mean in comparison to Episode III when he seemed much wiser. Is there any reason for this?
Chosen answer: Yoda was testing Luke. Luke was looking for a great Jedi warrior and expected to find this great man or creature, not a short, little, funny, "weak", creature. Yoda knew Luke must get past preconcieved ideas and conceptions of what it takes to be and become a Jedi. Luke failed this initial test.
Answer: It's a trope popular with many of the Asian films (and some fantasy books) that inspired Lucas' original trilogy. The powerful master is often encountered first as a seemingly harmless (or meaningless) person only to unveil themselves later to the protagonist's surprise. In many respects, it's like Obi-wan's first appearance in A New Hope.
Question: What does Aladdin mean when he says: "Look at that Abu, it's not everyday you see a horse with two rear ends."?
Answer: Aladdin is referring to the person riding the horse as being a "horse's ass" in the way he is acting, thus the horse the person was riding on has two rear ends, his own and the rider.
Question: In the opening Omaha beach scene, we see soldiers being mowed down as soon as they leave the LCVP's. Was this really the case in 1944? Were the bunkers really that close to to the shoreline?
Answer: Yes, this was the case unfortunately. Many soldiers lost there lives before exiting the boats. Several Normandy survivors say that the scene was the best interpretation of what actually happened on that day.
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Answer: Cameron stares specifically at the child in the painting, because he identifies with it. He feels the lack of affection and attention from his own family (unlike the child in the painting who is enjoying time with her family, the mother is holding her hand).
Shipper